Monday Motivator

Easter Sunday is upon us!  As the Lenten season of sacrifice and repentance comes to a close this Holy Week, the Christian church rejoices as we remember Christ’s resurrection and victory over sin and death.  This week, I would like to simply remind you of the great news and hope of Easter from the Gospel of Matthew: After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first (Read the rest ... )

From time to time, the Monday Motivator will feature guest editorial and stories of some of the many organizations doing great things in Memphis. This week we are excited to share a story about someone from the MCUTS extended family doing great work in South Memphis.   The recent storms across the Mid-South remind us of why T.S. Eliot called April “the cruelest month.” In (Read the rest ... )

Sabbath is an oft overlooked concept in our society.  Our busy, work-from-anywhere, 24-hour drive thru culture has nearly made us into a people who never rest, who never stop. We’ve become too good for rest, too important even. To wit, when was the last time you took a vacation and didn’t check your email? Yet, even the Lord rested. People are not meant to work (Read the rest ... )

Jesus counsels us in Matthew 6, “Where your treasure is, there your heart will be.”  What do you treasure? Where is your heart on this Monday morning?  The ‘heart’ appears frequently throughout Scripture and concerns our whole being: our emotions, our mind and our will. As one author puts it, “The Scripture teaches that the heart is the control center for life.”  Accordingly, the way (Read the rest ... )

The call to Christian hospitality is both a duty and an act of mercy, and it is one that blesses both the giver and the receiver.  Even so, we all have plenty of commitments and responsibilities; in a world of schedules and deadlines hospitality can seem like another thing for our to-do list.  Instead of adding another burden, remember that any call from the Lord (Read the rest ... )

Ash Wednesday begins the season of Lent.  Traditionally, Christians observe this season before Easter Sunday as a time of repentance, reflection, prayer, and fasting.  Whether or not your church formally recognizes Lent, the practice is significant for all Christians. As we prepare ourselves to remember Christ’s death and resurrection, let’s take time to lay down our lives before the Lord and ask him to reorient (Read the rest ... )

MCUTS student Sherman Mason was not always on his way to a degree in Biblical Ministry.  In fact, he served almost eight months in a Memphis prison after living 18 years of his life in addiction.  Today, he celebrates 13 years of sobriety, ministers to prisoners, and plans to pursue doctoral work in Christian ministry. Sherman and his wife head Saving Faith Ministries, comprised of (Read the rest ... )

What does it mean to be a leader? This role can seem daunting – do we all have to be civic leaders, senior pastors, or the top of our fields to be “leaders?” In Joshua 1:7, the Lord exhorts us to be “strong and courageous.” We will all be called to different areas of leadership. Some may be pastors of churches and ministry leaders, while (Read the rest ... )

Have you ever read the book of Job? In the first chapter, Job is described as “blameless and upright, one who feared God and turned away from evil.” Those are pretty good credentials for a Christian. And despite this, Job lost his children and all his wealth – the source of his livelihood and those who would carry on his family. What does suffering tell (Read the rest ... )